There is a big difference between convincing your teacher the dog ate your homework and persuading them the earth is flat.
What about debating with your school principal that the country of Australia doesn’t actually exist?
Highly unlikely.
But for a group of Canterbury secondary school students, believing the impossible could actually be possible is what is helping them gain their NCEA qualifications.
This year, a group of 50 students have delved deep into the most mind-bending theories known to man and been forced to argue they contain truths.
The debating assessment, where students were given a conspiracy to argue for or against is part of Rolleston College’s intriguing new class – conspiracy.
Students are taught to critically think and question what they read with a discerning eye, all while gaining both literacy and science NCEA credits.
In an age of ‘fake news’ and unlimited information at their fingertips, three students, Samuel Pearson, Joy Su and Ethan Richards-White, say the class has prompted new discussions in their lives and taught them how to question fact from fiction.
The most widely-debated theories are covered including 9/11, the moon landing, Illuminati and the earth being flat.
Do vaccines cause autism? Has the cure for cancer already been discovered? Does eating meat cause cancer?
Split into two components, the class has just completed the literacy course and will soon move into the science assessments.
For literacy, students were required to create a visual text which reflected the conflicting views of a conspiracy.
For Samuel, he showed the contrasting belief that secret group, Illuminati, is the higher controller of the our existence, while Joy and Ethan debated the theory of aliens, whether they control us or are living in the highly-classified, Area 51.
Along with this, a public-speaking assessment saw the class be divided into groups and given a topic and viewpoint, which they were required to debate, all while being judged by their principal, Steve Saville.
At first, Joy seemed disappointed she was given the task of arguing that vaccines cause autism.
But, delving into medical research for the debate made her realise she may consider medicine as a career path in future.
“Trying to understand every medical term was hard. It has made me more curious about medicine. It (the class) helps you to see what your interests are,” she said.
Ethan admitted he got a little bit sceptical with his debate topic.
“I did the earth is flat, on the affirmative side. Actually, we won. Mainly because I bombarded them with a lot of facts. . . I got a little bit convinced that the earth was flat for a bit there, mainly because I dived deep into the Flat Earth Society and stuff and I was like ‘hold on’ . . . but no . . . I believe that it is round, but somehow we won that debate,” he said.
After discussing conspiracies with his dad, Samuel thought he would choose the class, to put an interesting spin on learning literacy.
“I was looking at something different; I thought it would be an interesting thing to look into. It was things I was in to, writing, reading, researching, as well as the science part of it.
“Now, when I see an article about someone who believes in a conspiracy theory, because of this class, you can see that perspective more. You realise they aren’t just being funny or seeking attention, they actually believe this kind of stuff and you can see
if from their point of view,” he said.
Great conspiracy theories
1. Illuminati controlling the world – this conspiracy proposes a secret group called Illuminati has been controlling the world and is looking to create a one world government. Their end goal is supposedly to create the New World Order, which will dissolve national boundaries and people’s identities, while allowing for total authoritarian control. It is alleged several politicians and celebrities are in the group, including Beyonce, Jay-Z and Madonna.
2. The moon landing was a cover-up – Fifty years on, the hoax theory still exists. Some people believe the significant scientific and political achievement did not happen and that its appearance was orchestrated by NASA and the United States Government. The motive, as part of the Cold War, was allegedly done to raise national pride and one-up their arch-rival, the Soviet Union, and win the Space Race. The most common theory which leads people to believe it was fake was photos from the mission which show a flag moving in the wind, something that should not happen as there is no wind in space.
3. Who killed JFK? – The assassination of American president, John F. Kennedy – A large national survey in the United States in 2013 found 51 per cent of Americans believe there was a conspiracy behind the killing of JFK during a motorcade in Dallas in 1962. The shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, got the official blame. However, theories believe other parties such as the CIA, KGB or the Mafia, may have played a role. Other theories suggest there was more than one gunman and that more shots were fired than officially claimed. Possible motives include the Bay of Pigs invasion, a failed US military invasion of Cuba by the CIA or that his death was at the request of vice-president, Lyndon Johnson.
4. Was 9/11 an inside job? – The terror attack on September 11, 2001, caused one of the most popular and widely-discussed conspiracy theories. Multiple theories of the event have been discussed, mainly implicating the United States’ Government as causing the attacks in order to blame al-Qaeda and start war with Iraq. Theories claim jet fuel from the planes could not melt the steel beams of the World Trade Centre towers, which they believe was actually brought down by a controlled demolition.
5. The elusive Area 51 – Conspiracy theorists believe that the remains of crashed UFO space crafts are stored at Area 51. The highly-classified mysterious Air Force base in Nevada, is where Government scientists allegedly reverse-engineer the aliens’ advanced technology. The theories have come from a variety of supposed UFO sightings in the area and testimony from a retired army colonel, who says he was given access to extra-terrestrial materials gathered from an alien spacecraft that crashed in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. Some believe that the Government studies time travel at Area 51, also known as Groom Lake.
